The Modern Lover: A Playbook for Suitors, Spouses & Ringless Carousers

Rating:
Summary: Men who know Women
Review: Finally, there are men on the relationship scene who can talk about the ins and outs of more than just the ol' in-n-out. I've never read anything so meaningful--and, frankly, hysterical--on P'Whipped partners or Living in Sin. These guys skip the usual crap on playiing games in romance and get right down to the foundations and funnies of love's nuances. The chapter on weddings is absolutely the best thing written on modern nuptials and without a doubt captures all that's wrong with by-the-book, cookie-cutter weddings that most everyone falls victim to without Bohemian sensibilities or matured tastes to mitigate parental influence.

The writing is exceptional. In fact, I first read about the authors in Writer's Digest. As a married woman and mother, I especially appreciate the tips on long-term love that you'll never find in some Idiot's Guide to a Happy Marriage or one of those sappy fall-in-love-every-day books. They even got the childbirth parts dead on.

Metrosexuals are all the rage, but who knew MetroDads were in vogue?? Way to go. Ladies, these men have learned something and they'll tell the other boys what to do with a spoonful of humor that makes the medicine go down.

Rating:
Summary: Fun read full of common and uncommon sense...
Review: I am really enjoying this book. The book seems intended for guys who are growing up (i.e. in their 30s) or want to and need a study guide. The writing is sharp and clever and the writers cover a lot of ground - relationships from dating to getting serious to living together (that's the ringless carouser part). There's a section on putting together a decent wine collection that I found really useful, having just discovered wine myself.

Rating:
Summary: The antidote for religious schooling
Review: Somebody once told me that the most important sex organ is the brain. Read this book and improve your most important sex organ by at least a few inches.

Sister Mary Frances would have smacked you upside the head as she confiscated this book from you. But she would have left the convent once she flipped through the pages and saw what she was missing.

Let's face it. You probably have more to learn about love. This book encourages you to take an honest look at your past so that you can be the lover you were born to be. The world needs more love. Are you ready to do your part? If so, buy this book, get with the program, and put the Viagra back on the shelf.

Rating:
Summary: witty and enlightening
Review: The authors of The Modern Gentleman have penned another great book for the ever (hopefully) evolving man. The Modern Lover offers insight into the male psyche as well as copious advice and behavorial guidelines. There are plenty of trite "gift books" that find a permanent home wedged behind the toilet and the wall, for occasional one-liners and "how to's"; not very helpful.

It wasn't until The Modern Gentleman was published that I finally found a book with some meat in it, something I could offer to my up and coming brother that would truly help him polish his social and cultural skills. The Modern Lover is the perfect follow up. Having covered the basics of dating in the first book, TML digs deeper into the complexities of a maturing relationship, starting with how to recognize when the chemistry is there. (I think the authors presume a certain level of intelligence among their readers, and honestly ladies, isn't that what you want in a man? For the beau with a growing intellect there is plenty of inspriration to enlighten oneself.)

As a married woman, I really appreciate the section on Toys and Tolerances. It offers some fun and naughty suggestions for adding some spice to the bedroom, in turn strenghtening the marital bond, which the authors cleverly refer to as the "We Cycle". As a mother, one of my favorite sections is New Dad. Tesauro and Mollod offer very honest info on what the "First 100 Days" are like and how to be sensitive to the new mother's needs while taking care of himself. It's a scary but managable time and great that a (prospective) father can get some straightforward insight from another man.

All in all, I loved this book and think it's just as good a read for women as it is for men. The authors cover a lot of topics, so many different types of relationships and inspire the reader to be a more "Evolved Bachelor", all the while maintaining his personal style. The charts, graphs and illustrations are fun too.

Rating:
Summary: A great gift
Review: The Modern Lover rocks. I got this book as a gift and can't stop leafing through it. It's the book to keep with you on the subway and learn amusing things to keep you smiling all day. Mollod and Tesauro dash off their witticisms while providing useful info throughout. Plus they teach you how to make some awesome drinks!

Rating:
Summary: Amusing reading but lacks nuts and bolts advice
Review: This book is definitely for the "evolved bachelor" in the parlance of an editorial review posted on Amazon. An urban sophisticate could use this book to add that extra veneer of sparkle to his already glossed self and get a good chuckle out of the witty prose, as well. However, the vast majority of hot-dog chomping guys would (I presume) still emerge clueless after perusing this book.

The authors give absolutely no guidance on how to approach a woman in real life. The internet dating advice on this issue, however, is a little more fleshed out with specifics. The would-be-carouser is also not advised how to behave on those all important, impression forming initial dates. I'm a female and I'm utterly amazed (and often appalled) just by the way many otherwise well-meaning, honorable, smart professional men relate to women. Advice such as not treating a date as a therapist, taking some genuine interest in her life, maintaining proper grooming and hygiene in an intimate relationship are definite romance-builders. These topics of paramount importance do not come up in the book except as cursory references to other issues. In addition, The .. ahem ... end "bars" theme comes across as overworked especially as the authors have used a similar motif in their previous tome.

All in all, I wish that Mollod and Tesauro had gone one step back on the evolutionary scale and given the nitty-gritty (with specific examples) on how to have a pleasant social interaction with a woman. Even "Modern Gentleman" does not cover these crucial fundamentals but assumes a more sophisticated patina in its readers, that is sadly lacking in the real world. Once these skills are thoroughly mastered the stage is set for romance and the gentleman reader is primed for the kind of advice given in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Gentler and Better than Before
Review: This one was even better and wittier than the original Modern Gentlemen text. Very witty and useful at the same time. One of those books you can read several times over like a funny reference book. I enoyed it so much I purchased 19Great copies for my officemates. Good job, Gentlemen.

Rating:
Summary: Modern Times call for Modern Lovers
Review: When I saw in Newsweek that Tesauro and Mollod had come out with a new book I went right out to the bookstore. I own their first book, The Modern Gentleman, and it continues to provide a manner pick-me-up years later, so I couldn't wait to pick The Modern Lover.

In their new book, the authors pick up where they left off. Dating, wooing and filling your head with jazz and literature and a touch of vice was handled in the first book, now this is the stuff you need to know now that you've landed a semi-serious mate. They start with a witty description of "One-Night Stands" - everything from the memorable ones to those better left out of the memory box. They cover the ins and outs of Valentine's Day and dating someone out of your age bracket. They also touch on the ever enjoyable phrase p-whipped - the syndrome when one is so infatuated with a lover that you sacrifice your own wants and needs leading even your best friends to mock you.

As the book evolves, so does the relationship as they delve into more serious matters like living in sin, infidelity and a night on the couch. Througout the book they use similar stimulating graphics like those in the Modern Gentleman as in the section on compatability - determining if the person you are with is really the right one for you. They then touch on proposals, engagements, weddings and they even have a section for ringless carousers - those in a committed relationship who never legalize it. Thrown in are the original sections akin to the Modern Gentleman--Daddy Detox, The Brady Bunch Factor, The Red House, not to mention a list of essential modern cookbooks--I have already dogeared that page for future reference.

The last three chapters are dedicated to being a good partner, in the house and out of the house - from lights and darks to green thumb, who doesn't like a guy who can do the laundry and plant bulbs all in the same day. The book even has a list of all the appropriate anniversary gifts to give your wife - who could really keep track of all of those without it, and one-night stands is capped off with two sections on being a New Dad. They make even the mundane, exciting: simply the best and most scathingly funny material on Inlaws (and Outlaws), Guest Lists, Aphrodisiacs.

This book fits in every room: the coffee table, nightstand, gentleman's briefcase, lady's handbag, and required reading for every serious suitor, hubby, wife, and consort. And, it fits many moods, whether you want advice (practical and long-range), good writing, or just a laugh. Heartily recommended.